When HTC first introduced its Vive virtual reality (VR) headset in April of 2016, “The Blu” quickly became one of the most talked-about launch titles: With its ability to transport viewers onto the deck of a sunken ship, and face-to-face with a giant 80-foot whale, it offered viewers a deeply moving experience of presence and
Tech
December 14, 2018 6:00AM PT Facebook is expanding the content available to users of is Portal smart display slash video calling device: The company is bringing news content from ABC News and CNN to the device, which can now also be used to browse the web. The launch of a new web browser to Portal
December 13, 2018 4:29PM PT The patented Jingle Player lets customers search for music using pop culture terms that are both intuitive and efficient. Though its primary function is creative, Jingle Punks is built on a foundation of technology and administration. The patented Jingle Player that lets customers search for music using pop culture terms is
Jukin Media, which specializes in licensing user-generated viral videos, hired Jill Goldfarb as VP of linear programming. Goldfarb’s former tours of duty include serving as Discovery Channel’s VP of programming and as VP of program planning and scheduling at ABC Family/Fox Family Channel. Most recently, for the past five years she worked as an independent
Imax is making its exit from virtual reality (VR) official: The company notified shareholders with a SEC filing Thursday that it will close down its remaining three VR centers, and write off “certain VR content investments.” A company spokesperson confirmed the planned closures and shared the following statement with Variety: “With the launch of the
YouTube is enacting a broad purge of spam accounts over the next two days, and it’s warning creators they could see a big drop in subscribers as a result. According to YouTube, on Dec. 13-14, creators “may see a noticeable decrease” in subscriber counts. The Google-owned video service regularly works to verify the legitimacy of
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is Twitch’s most popular live-streaming gamer. Now he’s taking his play-by-play skills to the NFL — although it remains to be seen how many of his millions of followers are actually interested in his commentary on gridiron action. This season, Amazon-owned Twitch has provided free live-streaming feeds of the NFL’s “,” under
December 13, 2018 9:13AM PT Amazon is once again selling Google’s Chromecast streaming adapter, three years after yanking the product from its website. The e-commerce giant began listing the 3rd-generation model of Google’s Chromecast streaming stick, as well as the 4K-capable Chromecast Ultra, on its website this week. The move could be a first step
Facebook is trying to make the case that premium, long-form video entertainment — with the right themes and formats — can draw big and engaged audiences on its Facebook Watch platform. The social giant has renewed a set of four original series for second seasons: Kerry Washington’s drama “Five Points”; influencer Huda Kattan’s reality show
Smithsonian Networks has expanded its push to reach cord-cutters with the launch of Smithsonian Channel Plus, promising subscribers 1,000-plus hours of streaming nonfiction programming for $5 per month. The new subscription VOD service incorporates and supersedes Smithsonian Earth, the company’s $3.99-monthly SVOD service that launched three years ago, which had been geared around nature and wildlife.
The haters have spoken: In less than a week, YouTube Rewind 2018 — its year-in-review mashup — has registered the most dislikes of any video on the platform. As of Thursday (Dec. 13) morning, YouTube Rewind 2018 had notched 9.9 million dislikes after debuting Dec. 6. That pushed it above the previous record holder: Justin
NPR unveiled a new open source podcast measurement project Wednesday that aims to bring more transparency and granularity to podcast metrics. The project, dubbed Remote Audio Data (RAD), has been developed in partnership with a number of podcast app developers, ad tech companies as well as tech and media heavyweights including ESPN, Google and iHeartMedia.
It would be hard to top the drama of 2018. From media mega-mergers to the rise of Time’s Up, it was a year that had more than its fair share of twists and turns. Leslie Moonves resigned in disgrace, AT&T snapped up Time Warner, Disney inched closer to subsuming Fox and “Black Panther” shattered box
December 12, 2018 9:38AM PT Apple is preparing to relaunch Texture, a news subscription app it acquired in March, as a premium tier of Apple News early next year, according to a Bloomberg report. To prepare for the launch, Apple has been trying to get prominent newspapers including the New York Times and the Wall
December 12, 2018 9:10AM PT China-based music streaming company Tencent Music Entertainment Group said it raised nearly $1.1 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, according to Reuters. Earlier this year, the company was expected to be valued at as much as $30 billion and raise $4 billion for its IPO, but those estimates were
December 12, 2018 8:07AM PT The producers of “Stranger Things” and creator and director of “The End of the F***ing World” series are making “I Am Not Okay With This” for Netflix, a coming-of-age tale about a girl with mysterious powers. 21 Laps will make the series, which was co-created by Jonathan Entwistle, who was behind
December 12, 2018 8:01AM PT Swati Shetty, who has headed Indian content operations at Netflix is to step down from the global streaming giant. She joined the streamer in August 2016 as director of international originals and acquisitions. The company said it is placing more emphasis on India and that the role should ideally be
Game company ZeniMax Media said it is has agreed to settle litigation against Facebook, Oculus and individual executives alleging misappropriation of its virtual-reality technology. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. ZeniMax sued Facebook in 2014 after Id Software co-founder John Carmack joined Oculus as chief technology officer. In the suit, which sought as much as $4 billion in damages, alleged
December 12, 2018 6:01AM PT Integral Ad Science (IAS), a digital ad verification company, hired Lisa Utzschneider as CEO and board member. Most recently, she was Yahoo’s chief revenue officer, exiting Yahoo with Verizon’s acquisition of the company last year. Utzschneider starts at IAS effective Jan. 7, 2019, replacing president and CEO Scott Knoll, who
Google released its 2018 “year in search” lists of what internet users sought out this year, with “Black Panther” scoring as the top entertainment search. Disney-Marvel Studios’ superhero blockbuster “Black Panther” was the only movie or TV show in the top-10 trending overall searches on Google this year (both in the U.S. and worldwide). High-profile
Google released its 2018 “year in search” lists of what internet users sought out this year, with “Black Panther” scoring as the top-trending entertainment search. Disney-Marvel Studios’ superhero blockbuster “Black Panther” was the only movie or TV show in the top 10 trending overall searches on Google this year (both in the U.S. and worldwide).
Refinery29 will begin production in 2019 on “Embrace,” a pilot from writing duo Kathreen Khavari (“Big Little Lies”) and Chuck Neal. “Embrace” will star Khavari as she comes up with an unconventional solution to prevent her Iranian immigrant parents from having to move back to Iran. Refinery29 bills the show, set in Khavari’s hometown of
December 11, 2018 10:54AM PT Starz is having an online holiday sale: The premium cable network is selling three months of its online streaming service for $5 per month, down from the regular price of $8.99 per month. The offer is available to new users who sign up until the end of December. Subscribers also
One is a legend in the media business, the other in the tech world. But together Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman are intent on bringing the best of both worlds together for their ambitious new venture: Quibi. On the latest episode of the Variety podcast Strictly Business, the dynamic duo shared their battle plan to
Netflix collects reams of data, but it keeps most viewing metrics close its vest. That leaves third-party measurement firms to try to estimate what’s trending on the streaming service. Occasionally, though, Netflix does dribble out a few stats — to promote its own original TV shows and movies. That’s despite the fact that the majority of
Verizon’s rollup strategy combining Yahoo and AOL hasn’t panned out the way it expected. The telco spent around $10 billion to acquire Yahoo and AOL, merging them under the Oath operating division. But the internet-media business isn’t performing as well as Verizon originally expected — and on Tuesday, Verizon said it expects to record a
Director Alfonso Cuaron opted to work with Netflix for his latest film “Roma,” but the decorated filmmaker isn’t discounting the importance of a big-screen viewing. “The complete experience of ‘Roma’ is unquestionably in a movie theater,” Cuaron said Monday night at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles for the premiere of “Roma.” The streaming giant did
The United States Department of Education is betting on virtual reality to help students with high-functioning autism and learning disabilities in schools across the country. This month the Office of Special Education and Programs announced its investment of $2.5 million toward a new program that will use VR to nurture social skills in students with
Acorn TV launched in 30 new markets Tuesday, the biggest wave of international launches to date for the AMC-owned streaming service, which focuses on British and English-language drama. The platform is now live in Australia and New Zealand, India, Spain, the Nordics, the Benelux countries and South Africa. The international rollout started in June, when Acorn
Cinedigm, the operator of specialty OTT services in North America, has signed a deal with China’s Starrise Media to release several Starrise productions on its soon-to-launch Chinese content streaming service, Bambu. The company has also signed deals with Alibaba-owned Chinese streaming giant Youku to distribute 30 original Chinese feature films. The deal covers release on